DAY 82: Sunday - May 23
Pete: Started off as another usual day. Got in an hour's hike in the morning. The truck continued on through increasingly sandy desert toward Niamey. Around 9:30 came upon a water hole in the desert. Twenty or thirty nomads were watering their camels, long horn cattle, goats and horses. Quite a scene. The well was about 100 or more feet down so they were using the camels to lift the skin water bags out of the well by a system of ropes and pulleys. The people were friendly and not at all mercenary or camera shy, so we all had a ball shooting scores of photos. They did not speak any French or English but we were able to communicate through gestures. One of the highlights of the trip. Stopped at another typical village market. Had an offer by the local barber to have my head shaved. Gracefully declined. Camped in a gravel pit and shortly afterward along came some local kids with their camel and horses. Got the courage up to mount the camel much to the amusement of all. Lillie: Today was very eventful, Around 9:00 a.m., we stopped to watch some of the Fulani people watering their animals; goats, horses, camels and donkeys. They used their camels to pull up water from their very deep wells. The people were not shy about posing so we should have gotten some good photos. The women looked very regal in their colorful dress and headdress. The men wore turbans. At the campsite tonight, Pete took the opportunity to ride on a camel belonging to a teenage boy. I was taking a loo stop at the campsite when a troop of camels marched within 100 feet. No shepherd with them, just camels. Not many villages in Niger except very small settlements of herdsmen. The land is becoming more and more sandy with hot desert winds. DAY 83: Monday - May 24
Pete: It never rains in the desert. Or so we thought when we went to bed last night with only a mossie net covering our heads. Around 2:30 a.m., the wind picked up and we thought a dust storm was going to blow for a few minutes. Then the rain started. Just sprinkles at first. We were sure it would subside in a couple of minutes. A half hour later, thoroughly soaked, we scrambled into the truck and huddled together on the narrow floor under our remaining dry sleeping bag to weather the rest of the storm and high winds which lasted until morning. Not much sleep was had. Spent most of the day snoozing on the truck as we continued westward on the paved roads to Niamey. Stopped at the town called Dosso to change money at the bank and eat lunch. Other than that, it was an uneventful day. Camped about 30 kilometers east of Niamey in position to enter the city first thing in the morning. The skies are somewhat overcast again this evening, but it never rains in the desert and our mossie net is hanging under a scrub bush again. Lillie: Well, last night or rather this morning was lousy. It started to rain about 2:30 a.m. Pete and I thought it would be a short shower. Instead, it became a downpour and before we got back to the truck we were soaked. The wind also became stronger so it became cold very fast. We snuggled up on the floor of the truck. Needless to say, we were not worth much today. Both of us slept for most of the drive. We did stop at one town, Dosso. We had a really cold drink at the town tavern. The plan is to make our way into Niamey tomorrow. The scenery is getting sandier as we go. DAY 84: Tuesday - May 25
Pete: Got in a 9 kilometer hike this morning. Arrived in Niamey around 9:30. Guarded the truck for a couple of hours. Bought a small tub of ice cream at a nearby supermarket and pigged out on that. Took Lillie to lunch at the Rivoli Hotel and went looking around the market. Wandered into the Gaweye Hotel and decided on the spot to spend the night. A beautiful modern hotel, not more than a couple of years old. Did not seem like Africa the minute we walked through the automatic electric eye glass doors. The price was a bit extravagant (14,000 WAFS) but the price of paradise is high. Went for a swim in the Olympic sized pool after a coke in the bar with the thick padded leather seats and tooled leather (camel skin) walls. Went up to the room for a luxurious bath with Lillie and then returned later for a wonderful extended afternoon delight on the fresh clean linen. Then the real treat, dinner in the beautifully decorated French Restaurant downstairs. Five excellent waiters in attendance, superb food, real green salad with Roquefort dressing. Went through two bottles of wine. A memorable evening. Lillie was a wildcat. Lillie: We reached Niamey today. We walked around town and paid a visit to the Rivoli Hotel for lunch. That included green salad! Then we took a walk to the National Museum just in time for closing. Items of local craft work include: leather (camel) bones, brass swords, woven materials and other leather items. We wandered over to a new looking hotel named Gaweye overlooking the river. The air conditioned luxurious lounge was overwhelming. We wandered to the bar for a cold drink. It was a lovely lounge with lots of leather. The restaurants were glassed in with lovely decor. On a moment of weakness we decided to ask the cost of a room. We were delighted that it was less than $50.00. So what could we do but go for it. We went for a swim about 4:00 p.m., and had a French cuisine meal around 9:00 p.m., after a lovely before-dinner nap. It was great to feel soft, clean, sheets next to my skin and have the opportunity to love Pete in proper style. It was also enjoyable to find good service and the blacks doing a good job in making the hotel of international quality. DAY 85: Wednesday - May 26 Pete: Could get habit forming, waking up leisurely in a comfortable bed in an air conditioned room. Soaked for a while, took another bath and headed across the street to the National Museum at 9:00. Excellent exhibits of Nigerian costumes, native habitats, fossils and musical instruments. Most impressive though were the artisans at work in their shops making silver jewelry, leather craft, weaving cloth, carving ivory and wood. Purchased a lovely tooled camel leather purse at 3,000 franks. Returned to the hotel for lunch. A t-bone steak with potatoes au gratin. Delicious beyond description. Spent the rest of the day at the pool sunning and cooling in the water hippo style and eating "glaces" (ice cream). Reluctantly returned to the truck at 4:30 which was parked at the post office. All good things must pass. Left the city for a campsite overlooking the Niger River. Immediately back into the routine with Zoe rationing the mucky mackerel. But think of all the money we are saving. Her goal is to go through life on a dollar a day. Lillie:
We woke up to the coolness of our room at the Gaweye. In the morning, we toured the Musie National for several hours. The exhibitions were very well done. Of particular interest were the Tuareg's costumes and the Nigerian craftwork. Craftsmen were actually making leather goods, silver jewelry and fabrics. The craftwork was of a quality we have not seen in Africa. We purchased a camel skin bag for $9.00, worth at least $50.00 in the United States. It was hard to come back to the rolling truck today. Should be back in England in a month. DAY 86: Thursday - May 27 Pete: Headed back into Niamey again this morning around 8:30 a.m. We supposedly were to leave town by noon, so Lillie and I ran around town doing our errands. First to the bank to change some more money. Then we went searching all over for another supermarket. Found one near the site of the Grande Marche and bought some Ritz crackers and mustard for the desert. Then I headed to the Gaweye Hotel as Lillie went to the other supermarket. Purchased a beautiful tooled leather cassette case for 12,000 franks (talked down from 15,000). Lillie stocked up on corned beef, pineapple juice, ravioli, etc., for the desert. Got back at noon and heard the bad news that Algeria had recently passed a regulation requiring all tourists to exchange 1,000 dinars ($250.00) officially. This seems like extortion when we only planned to be in the country for about six days and pass through only one town, Tamanrasset for one day. So we went to the American Embassy for advice. The woman consulate there was not very encouraging but did, after some persuasion, agree to make a phone call to the Algerian Embassy and endorse a letter we composed stating we are students. Camped at the same campsite overlooking the Niger. Lillie: Today was also spent in Niamey. Another overland trip pulled up with startling news. We all have to change $250.00 per person to enter Algeria. Most persons still in the group do not have that much money. The only exception to this rule is the students. Several people (3) do have student cards; otherwise we are trying to find a means to circumvent this requirement. Pete, Barry and myself are getting letters from our embassies indicating that we are students. We do not know if this will be accepted; however, it is worth the chance. Or perhaps if we are sneaky enough we can slip into Tamanrasset without alerting the police. We are spending another night in a gravel pit. We bought some juices and meat for the dessert. DAY 87: Friday - May 28 Pete: Back into Niamey again this morning. Lillie, Tom and I proceeded to the U.S. Embassy. Met by the female consulate and were told that she had called the Algerian Embassy on our behalf but to no avail. There were absolutely no exceptions to the money exchange regulations. With some persuasion she agreed to notarize a statement which we composed. She said she and her people were too busy to translate it into French at the time, but if we were to come back this afternoon the official translator would do it then. Not particularly helpful to say the least. Waited around the truck and at the Rivoli Hotel the rest of the afternoon while Verona and Beth got similar letters from the British Vice-Consulate. Returned once again to the familiar campsite overlooking the Niger River for a little wine to celebrate Rob's 21st birthday. Lillie: Today was Rob's birthday. We spent another day in Niamey trying to find some means to guarantee that we could get into Algeria without everyone having to pay the $250.00. We went back to the American Embassy to try to get a letter indicating that we were students. The consulate was not very helpful in writing a letter for us in French. We even had to pay $4.00 to have the letter notarized. We were very disappointed with the lack of cooperation we gained from the embassy. By the middle of the afternoon, I had developed a headache and sore throat, so I went to bed early. DAY 88: Saturday - May 29 Pete: Back into town again. This time for David to send a telex to the Guerba office informing them of our intentions to continue to Algeria despite the fact that 3 or 4 passengers do not have sufficient funds to comply with the currency exchange regulations. Do not quite know for sure how all this will work out. Left Niamey doubling back on the road we came in on. First day of my cooking rotation today. Volunteered to cook with Martin as a result of the reorganization of cooks due to the loss of Donna. Was pleased to get out of the team with George and Tom as George tended to be lazy and selfish and Tom was usually drunk or obnoxious or both. Martin on the other hand is a hard worker and easy to work with providing one stays up wind from his rather "strong" physique. The day went rather quickly mainly due to the fact that we were only travelling from 10:30 on. Put out a substantial meal of New Orleans gumbo which lacked only plump shrimp for authenticity. Prepared a full large kettle which was scarfed up almost entirely. Lillie:
We finally left Niamey around 10:00 a.m., after a telex was sent to Guerba indicating how we plan to proceed. I am getting really tired so in some ways I am looking forward to getting to Morocco. Tonight Pete is cooking dinner, looking forward to a healthy gumbo stew. The landscape is getting flatter with little vegetation. DAY 89: Sunday - May 30 Pete: Up early again today. A refreshing and light breakfast of ripe cantaloupe and then it is on the road again for Agadez and beyond through the Algerian desert. Starting to see the occasional Arab and Black Moslem plodding along beside the road off in the distance on their camels and donkeys. Inevitably, when we pull up for lunch or a loo stop, we are visited shortly thereafter by one or more of these Arabic speaking people. We do not see signs of dwellings or villages around so their presence surprises us as we are sure we are alone in the barren parched landscape. Rode up in the cab with David most of the day as is the custom with the cooks on the lookout for possible vittles for the day's meals. It was a refreshing change from the familiar rear of the "lorrie." Little things like that help break the daily routine which can without diversion can become monotonous. Prepared a cold mackerel, macaroni and veggie salad and beef and soup for dinner. DAY 90: Monday - May 31
Pete: Up early today. Last day on the cooking rotation. Easy breakfast of grapefruit and toast. Headed out on the tar sealed road for Agadez stopping only for water, wood and lunch. The desert became more and more barren until virtually no plant life could be seen anywhere on the horizon. Arrived in Agadez at 3:00 p.m. just in time to drop off our passports at the police station for the customary stamp. Had a quick look around the market with Martin for food for this evening's meal, but the only things available were some fly-ridden day old legs of lamb, peanuts in the shell and some grotty citrus. Decided on the fallback of spaghetti with corned beef tomato sauce. Camped in a campsite about 7 kilometers outside of the town. Another of those sweltering nights with no breeze making it difficult to do anything but lay back and sweat and pray for a whif of wind or sleep to bring relief. There are "showers" at the campsite, but the pool of water covered in a thick green layer of algae which feeds the buckets is revolting. DAYS 89-90: Sunday & Monday - May 30-31 Lillie: I am tired from my cold today. Too bad I have to wait until the desert to get a cold. We are not passing many villages and the landscape is becoming more and more sandy. Hopefully, we will soon get some relief from the heat at night. We really seemed to cross into the desert proper today about two hours out of Agadez. We had cool drinks in Agadez. It is amazing what a cold drink can do for cooling the body. The town of Agadez is amazing. It is extremely dry, yet there is water around. We even camped in an oasis with palm trees and the works. Campsites however are laden with trash and are really not as comfortable as the bush. DAY 91: Tuesday - June 1 Pete: Up at a more leisurely 7:00 a.m. this morning. Had time for a shower at the campsite's facilities. A Spartan rig indeed. Over to the deep well with a bucket to fill the bucket suspended overhead in the shower stall and quickly wash up before it all drains out through the holes in the bottom. Paid a kid 300 franks to do my laundry. Then into Agadez. Greeted immediately by a Taureg with a beautifully etched sword for sale. $300.00 the starting price. Knew from the start that I was in for a full day of fun bargaining. He followed us everywhere frequently offering us his "last price" and I offering him mine. Then when we could not agree, off he would go only to pop up again 15 or 20 minutes later for another round of friendly but vigorous bargaining each pointing out to the other how we could not possibly go any closer to the other's price, but edging a bit closer after all. Closed the deal at noon for 9,000 franks ($32.00), great friends and pleased with our good fortune. Lillie took our photos. Had a shirt tailor made for me at one of the market stalls ($10.00). Left Agadez at 3:30 and camped on the road to Algeria at 5:30. Shortly thereafter, a classic Tuareg on a camel in full regalia showed up. Lillie:
We went back into Agadez for the day. We found it to be a friendly town. Pete had a ball negotiating for a lovely Tuareg sword. We spent the morning walking around the market, with one Tuareg following us and stopping us every few minutes trying to sell us the sword. I also negotiated for a Tuareg turban, was fitted with it, and proceeded to be the "American" Tuareg. The men are somewhat enamored with white women. Several of the men in our group were offered deals to buy the women. "5000 CFA's" for me in exchange for a black woman for one of our men. Pete also purchased one embroidered shirt which was tailored for him in less than two hours. Agadez is somewhat of a growing town. New construction is going up in all directions. We were visited all evening by various tribal people. One Hausa tribesman looked like a black knight on his white camel. The desert people look so regal and proud on their animals whether they be donkeys or camels. DAY 92: Wednesday - June 2
Pete: Sampled camel meat last night in a gravy. Not too bad at all. Tastes somewhat like beef. "It never rains in the desert." But it did last night at 3:00 a.m. and again this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. Scrambled into the truck and did not get much sleep the rest of the night. Was treated to an all day dust storm with varying degrees of intensity. The storm continues this evening as we are camped beside a couple of sand dunes. Officially entered the Sahara today passing the last town in Niger called Arlit, even though it is several kilometers from the border. The landscape turned completely barren, sand stretching to the horizon. The dust turned the sky grayish tan all day. The light dust covers everything, our bodies, the truck, our food, everything. You have to experience the sun and the sand to fully understand why the Arabs and Black Moslems in this part of the world swaddle every part of their anatomies save their eyes in cotton cloth. Lillie is frequently seen sporting her new white Taureg headdress which when coupled with her mirror sunglasses, make her look like quite the Arab fashion queen. Lillie:
Today we went through Arlit which was two hours outside our campsite. A uranium mine was nearby. Outside this small dusty town, the road becomes a track of sand. The day was a dust storm almost from the beginning. The previous evening there had been a sandstorm at the "appropriate" time (about 2:00 a.m.) which turned into a shower. The second shower we have had in three days in the desert. We moved into the truck and waited out the shower for approximately an hour. The temperature dropped perhaps 10 degrees. It was comfortable sleeping under the mosquito net after that, but unfortunately at 6:00 a.m., the wake-up call came in. The day was such a dusty ordeal. We have learned that this time of year immediately before the hottest month of June, July and August is when the sandstorms are most prevalent. The sky has not been clear since before we left Niamey. Today at 4:00 p.m., we were travelling through very desolate desert and encountered a heavy duststorm and immediately afterwards a rain storm. Again, rain in the desert. Maybe everyone is pulling our legs when they say the desert is dry! |
Not many villages in Niger except very small settlements of herdsmen
The land is becoming more and more sandy with hot desert winds The women looked very regal in their colorful dress and headdress. The men wore turbans. It never rains in the desert. Or so we thought ....... Starting to see the occasional Arab and Black Moslem plodding along beside the road off in the distance on their camels and donkeys Another of those sweltering nights with no breeze making it difficult to do anything but lay back and sweat and pray for a whif of wind or sleep to bring relief The desert people look so regal and proud on their animals whether they be donkeys or camels You have to experience the sun and the sand to fully understand why the Arabs and Black Moslems in this part of the world swaddle every part of their anatomies save their eyes in cotton cloth |